HOLLYWOOD —Part Ten of “The Pacific,” which concluded on Sunday night, was the most incredible miniseries in the past two decades on television, which left me in tears. Yes, grown men do cry. Seeing the characters who were all based on real people in this series was one of the most emotionally profound experiences of my life. The actors have done an incredible job and each and every one of them deserves an Emmy for outstanding performances in roles because all of them were too young to remember what really happened during WWII. The complexity in which each character was written and to see young actors portray real men, the greatest men of the past century with such amazing respect was heartwarming. These young men went through grueling filming, but the men they portrayed went through so much more, in order to offer freedom and security not only for the United States but to the world.

The episode picked up just after the Japanese surrender, Leckie (James Badge Dale), healed from his wounds, left the hospital and returned home, while Sledge headed back to Alabama to be reunited with his family and Sid Phillips (Ashton Holmes). Seeing these heroes return home after being forced to live in deplorable conditions, to kill and to protect each other from a very evil enemy, that even committed cannibalism on any American or allied troops they captured was more than most people would be able to endure the thought of. Yet these men all returned home, though shaken, they were not broken. They knew what they had fought for and they saved countless millions of innocent lives around the world by defeating an enemy that was in many people’s belief in the 1940s to be unstoppable.

Also on Sunday night, Lena visited Basilone’s home and had an emotional meeting with his family. Leckie adjusted to post-war life by resuming his old job and starting a new relationship, but for Sledge, unsure why he survived the war seemingly unscathed, adjustment will require more time. In reality, Sledge suffered like the majority of WWII soldiers in silence, and had to deal with what they have endured. The final episode was written by Bruce C. McKenna and Robert Schenkkan, and was directed by Jeremy Podeswa.

I absolutely loved the ending of the miniseries because they showed the real life heroes these brilliant and talented actors portrayed. They also did a synopsis of each ones life after the war, and I was amazed how many had kept in touch until they passed on and some even corresponding with each other today. I will truly miss this miniseries, but HBO and Dream Works did an amazing job bringing real life to modern TV and being very authentic about each heroes life both before the war, during the war and the immediate aftermath of the surrender of the Empire of Japan to the United States and its allies. Perhaps if you haven’t had the honor of watching this series, you can watch the encore performance during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday. On Saturday, May 29 episodes 1-5 will encore with 6-10 on Sunday, May 30.

“The Pacific” is a series that does more for our nation and our youth than anything that has aired in a decade on television.

 

Photograph By David James Courtesy: HBO Productions